Meet our Superintendent

Dr. Robert F. Dooley became the superintendent of the Ajo Unified School District No. 15 on July 1, 2002. Dr. Dooley's undergraduate and master's degrees are in secondary education with a major in history and a minor in business education. He received his doctorate degree in educational leadership with an emphasis in school finance from Arizona State University.

Professionally, Dr. Dooley is certified by the state of Arizona to be an elementary teacher, a secondary teacher of history and business, a K–12 principal, and a K–12 superintendent, the position he currently holds at Ajo Unified School District.

Prior to serving as the superintendent for the Ajo Unified School District, Dr. Dooley taught in public schools in the Phoenix area for six years, was an assistant principal for four years, and a principal for 20 years, during which time he helped design and open two new schools. He was also a business manager for two years and served as an adjunct professor of education leadership for Northern Arizona University for three years.

Dr. Dooley is married with three children and one grandchild. His wife, Joyce, is a retired educator who served as a school librarian in Glendale, Arizona and as an endorsed reading specialist at San Simon School on the Tohono O'odham Reservation. His daughter, Sherry, is a public school teacher in Las Vegas, Nevada; his daughter, Shannon, is a therapist and a student academic coach in the Gateway Program at Northern Arizona University; and his son, Spencer, is an actor who currently lives and works in the Los Angeles area.

Being superintendent leaves little time for Dr. Dooley to enjoy his hobbies, but when time permits, he relaxes by riding his Arabian mare or "fiddling" with one of several classic vehicles, which Dr. Dooley consistently refers to as "works in progress."

To help keep parents, staff, and community members apprised to events in our community and to those of the state that affect Ajo Schools and public education, Dr. Dooley frequently contributes articles in the Ajo Copper News. He has written a column for the same newspaper, reports monthly to the Western Pima County Community Council, and informally meets with staff at a bi-monthly breakfast meeting he calls "Bagels with Bob."